I'm surprised by the low score and poor reviews for this as I thought it was rather good. It is is very much of its era, and speaks to middle-class anxieties, with strange goings-on at an expensive country spa retreat for the rich and lonely.
There are lots of elements here creating a tense and intriguing drama: the masseur who finds he is increasingly cold and makes a desperate plea for help to get away before being silenced (reminiscent of the recent hit horror 'Get Out'); the heavy sexual overtones of both homosexuality and incest; the mysterious "vines" that never bear fruit nor die; the even more mysterious ice house that seems to hold a clue but that we somehow know should never be entered...
The audience is made suspicious of the brother and sister owners early on, but an explanation of what they are doing, how and why is not given until much later, and wisely never logically explained. Rather, images are left to linger whilst the increasing futility of the lamb-to-the-slaughter lead character settles in your gut. This is very much a mood piece and I found it extremely creepy right until the end.
There are lots of elements here creating a tense and intriguing drama: the masseur who finds he is increasingly cold and makes a desperate plea for help to get away before being silenced (reminiscent of the recent hit horror 'Get Out'); the heavy sexual overtones of both homosexuality and incest; the mysterious "vines" that never bear fruit nor die; the even more mysterious ice house that seems to hold a clue but that we somehow know should never be entered...
The audience is made suspicious of the brother and sister owners early on, but an explanation of what they are doing, how and why is not given until much later, and wisely never logically explained. Rather, images are left to linger whilst the increasing futility of the lamb-to-the-slaughter lead character settles in your gut. This is very much a mood piece and I found it extremely creepy right until the end.